Sister of the Swarm
by Athk0r3
Summary: Ruby Rose, huntress in training at beacon academy is visiting her home on the island of Patch, when she befriends a strange organism from another world. Now with newfound powers, abilities and allies, how will she thwart evil without becoming it herself?
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Fixed the Zerg text, added bold and italics where needed.**

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Oum Street  
Rose/Xiao-Long/Branwen Household  
Time: 04:56 AM

Even at the beginning of her first night back home, Ruby already missed Beacon. Initially slightly hesitant to be entering the school as early as she did, she quickly found she loved it. She met cool people, got to fight Grimm, and had a lot of fun.  
Now at the beginning of the break, she had went with her sister back home for 2 weeks. The first day had been great, getting ice cream, cookies, Zwei and hanging out with her dad. But she missed beacon, and the thrill of it all.  
Loathe to admit it, Ruby was starting to miss school, a thought she'd never truly acknowledge due to its heretical nature.  
But little did she know, her boredom would soon come to an end.

Location: Space outside of the Remnant System

The pod drifted aimlessly through space, its contents having been launched from a vessel and frozen in stasis some time ago, enough to lose nearly all momentum. It was caught by the pull of a sun in a system deep in uncharted galactic space, and slowly tugged toward the star.

Location: Remnant System

It picked up speed gradually, before it was hurtling through the cosmos once more, streaking almost defiantly toward the bright star. It was nearly there, when it was caught in the pull of a planet orbiting the star, specifically the third planet from the sun, one possessing a broken moon.

Location: Gravity well of planet Remnant-3

As the gravitational tug of the planet altered its course, the pods trajectory shifted, and it pierced the atmosphere, warming up in an impressive glowing corona of friction based heat as it plummeted down to the surface, unknowingly catching the eye of a certain person.

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Oum Street  
Rose/Xiao-Long/Branwen Household  
Time: 01:56 AM

Ruby couldn't sleep, she had snuck too many cookies upstairs to her room and had eaten them fairly quickly, the sugar giving her much more energy than she wanted. As of now she was looking wistfully put the window, gazing into the starry night sky and hoping for something cool to happen.  
Almost like her wish was heard by some god, a single star suddenly began to glow much brighter, before Ruby realized it was falling. A brilliant fireball soared over the island, and slammed down with a loud thump in the forest behind her house. She leaned out of the window, and judging by the faint smoke plume, it was about two miles away from her.  
" _Finally_ ," Ruby threw on her combat clothes and grabbed her scythe, Crescent Rose, "another adventure!" She whispered to herself excitedly as she snuck out the window. She sprinted off the roof and jumped, using her semblance to accelerate herself to frankly irresponsible speeds.  
She tore through the woods, racing to find the wreckage of what she thought would be a downed spaceship, eager to see what was going on.

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Time: 02:04 AM

Ruby soon reached the clearing, and hefted her weapon, shifting her scythe into a rifle and focusing it on the strange object in the center.  
It was shaped like nothing she'd ever seen before, with a large, bulbous, rotund, orb-like part stuck in the ground slightly, and ending with a series of long black spines sticking straight up, the shape making it look almost like a radish. Albeit it was almost two stories tall, not including the spines.  
"Hello?" Ruby asked tentatively, keeping her rifle focused on the strange thing, "Who a-"  
Human  
"Ah!" Ruby yelled in surprise and reflexively fired a shot at the thing, a shot which pinged away the second it made contact.  
That was unnecessary, but I suppose such a reaction is understandable...  
"Are you..." Ruby looked at it quizzically for a second, "Talking in my head?"  
Correct  
'That's impossible' She idly thought to herself.  
Nothing is impossible human  
"Wow" she said. Now that she thought about it, she realized the voice wasn't coming from the thing or anywhere else, it was like it had been placed straight into her head.  
"What's your name?" She asked, lowering the rifle slightly.  
 **Kreig**  
"Well hello Kreig, my name is-"  
 **Ruby Rose, I know who you are**  
"Wait can you read my mind?" She asked, slightly fearful.  
 **Yes**  
"Can you not?" She asked, a little annoyed.  
 **Fine**  
Ruby heard, or more like felt a slight hint of annoyance arc through its voice. Before she could think of what to say or do next, it spoke in her brain once more.  
 **You are different from other humans I have met. You do not seek violence and bloodshed. You are...kind**  
"Um.." She thought for a second, "thank you? But what are you?"  
 **I am a leader of the Zerg Swarm. We are a race of space faring aliens from beyond your world.**  
"You're an alien?" Ruby asked, receiving a short confirmation, "but why do you look like a radish?"  
 **Amusing, although I suppose an apt comparison given your lack of knowledge on the Zerg. Simply put, this a Zerg Sac. My vessel was in critical danger, and so my Master, Kerrigan, Queen of Blades, ordered me to escape. Unfortuntely, the exit is buried underground somewhat, and I have no way to open it**  
"Well I have a scythe," Ruby walked up to the Zerg Sac, "I could try and cut it open."  
 **I suppose I have no other options**  
With a quick and careful slice, Ruby cut open the Sac, allowing a large amount of greying purpleish slimy sludge to pour out onto the ground. With a puddle now formed, Ruby watched as a figure pushed its way out of the sac.  
It stood up slowly, balancing on a pair of legs as it looked around, before focusing on Ruby.  
"Why do you look human?" She asked, fairly confused.  
"This was my original form, before I became one with the Zerg." Kreig answered stepping out of the sludge.  
He seemed young, maybe a year or two older than Ruby, and fairly tall, standing at a comfortable 6 foot 2 inches, a full foot above Ruby herself. He looked down at her with a pair of piercing orange eyes and stepped forward again. His skin was a very light shade of grey with just a hint of purple, interrupted at the base of his neck, where his skin met a series of thin, brownish grey plates, which were divided up and covered his body from the neck down.  
He had two large plates covering his chest, two vaguely triangular ones over his ribs and a series of about six or eight running down his abdomen. Thankfully for Ruby, his genitals were covered with a similar plate, which went down to a series of plates on his thighs and shins, with one cap over each knee, both sporting a pair of curved spikes.  
His feet were very similar to a humans, only composed of jointed chitinous plating over each potentially open space. His arms were armored similarly to his legs, with a series of plates on his biceps and forearms.  
However, the carapace on his forearm was much more raised than the others, and seemed to be far more bulky, compared to the other, relatively flimsy armor.  
In between the thin plates of his carapace was the rest of his skin, which to Ruby looked more like exposed muscle tissue, with a deep purplish red hue, flexing and rippling as it moved and contracted.  
"I must thank you Ruby Rose," his voice was fairly deep, but rich and overall pleasant to listen to, "I confess I had no other options, and I suppose rescue by a human is rather humbling."  
His face was rather angular, but while not being strange, save for his skin tone, was handsome enough but normal enough. His hair was long and wild, the tips terminating just at the base of his neck, and colored a midnight black. The vast majority of it was swept up and back, going away from his face and messily running down his neck in a windblown fashion.  
"Can you, um, put some clothes on?" She asked, her face turning red, only receiving a questioning look from him.  
"Is my carapace not suitable?" His eyes narrowed slightly, "are you expecting combat?"  
"No, it's just what people do...right?" She looked at him, struggling not to break eye contact.  
"Hmm..." Kreig thought for a moment, "I'll think about it."  
He turned and stared at his pod for a moment before turning back to Ruby.  
"Do you have a home Ruby Rose?" He asked.  
"Yea!" She seemed to perk up very suddenly, "My house is only a mile or two that way! You could come with me if you want!"  
However Kreig declined.  
"I appreciate the kindness, but I have things to do here," Causing Ruby to sulk for a moment, "however, if you wish to return tomorrow, then you may do so."  
"I'll be back in the morning Kreig, but I've got to go to now," Ruby started to leave, receiving a nod from the Zerg commander, "I'll see you tomorrow!" She shouted as she took off into the forest.  
' _What an interesting girl_ ,' Kreig thought to himself as he watched her leave, " _I wonder if I should add her to the swarm, her speed could be integrated into my forces._ '  
' _But for now_ ,' He turned to the pod and reached inside, pulling put a foot long, larva looking organism with a series of sharp mandibles at one end and tentacles at the other. He took the organism and placed it in the sludge, allowing the Zerg Larva to begin changing.  
After a time, an insect looking being with fin like legs and a pair of pincers emerged, and Kreig directed it to begin using the creep and breaking down the sac into more material to use, and began shaping an odd looking structure where the pod once was.  
 **We have work to do**

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Oum Street  
Rose/Xiao-Long/Branwen Household  
Time: 8:32 AM

Ruby could hardly wait to get up in the morning. As soon as she did, she got dressed and raced downstairs, finding that her father and sister were both out of the house, having gone to the store and went to visit friends respectively.  
The second she fed Zwei, she bolted out the front door, and raced through the forest, eager to see her new friend, Kreig. He seemed nice, cool, and was even an alien! She just hoped he was wearing clothes by now, but if not, his carapace seemed to be enough. At least for him it did.  
She was nearing the clearing where she met him the night before, when she ran into something strange.  
It was a quadrupedal thing about the size of a large dog, layered in dark brown armor-like plates over purplish reddish skin. It had six limbs, two thick rear legs with two heavy claws, a pair of smaller front limbs with two thinner claws, and two limbs on its back, protruding from above its front shoulder blades, and possessing a long, scythe like blade.  
The shape of its face was somewhat lizard-like, and sported a large mouth filled with sharp teeth. On the sides of its face were to curved, thick pincer like tusks or horns. Another interesting feature were the two sets of insect wings attached to its back limbs thighs.  
It looked at Ruby with two glowing amber eyes, as she raised her scythe, before it made a motion with its scythe limbs that seemed to say, 'follow me'. Seeing as it was not hostile at the moment, Ruby decided to follow it, as it led her through the forest toward where the clearing was. A few seconds later, it was joined by two more identical creatures, none of which were hostile.  
She reached the clearing and saw the strangest buildings she could imagine. One was shaped like a large egg, and sat in the direct center of the clearing, right where the Zerg Sac was the night before. Next to that, was another structure, divided roughly into three rows. The outer two having three mounds with a large spike at the top, and a tube in the center.  
Milling around were about a dozen small insects, that looked roughly like a trilobite, sporting a pair of pincers and a fin like set of legs. They carried this...stuff... from the buildings and around the clearing, and a few carrying pieces of trees, vegetation, she even saw one hauling a dead deer twice its size and dumping it into the pit, where after a while, another small creature would remove a flesh sac from the spike topped mounds and drop it into the egg structure.  
One of the dog-like creatures beckoned her forward, so Ruby took a step into the clearing.  
 _Squish_  
She looked down, and saw that the purpleish greyish stuff that came out of the pod last night had covered the ground, and now her shoe, much to her dismay.  
"Ew ew ew!" She repeated to herself with each step she took, noticing that the things were leading her toward the large egg shaped structure in the middle of the clearing. As she got closer, she saw a hole open up in it, and a now familiar alien walk out.  
Krieg walked out onto the clearing, looking satisfied at everything that was happening, before he stopped a foot or two away from Ruby. He looked at her, regarding the girl with his glowing orange eyes.  
Much to her dismay he was still not wearing clothes.  
"Hello Ruby Rose," his voice still had the brusque yet polite tone from the night before, "I see my Zerglings have led you to my new Hive." The way he pronounced it, Ruby could just feel the capital h in 'Hive'.  
"H-hello..." Ruby took in the surrounding area for a second, "A hive?"  
"Yes. The Hive is the basic unit of Zerg territory, marked by an abundance of both Zerg and creep," he motioned to the purple-grey sludge on the ground, "the second of which operates as a natural food source."  
"You eat this stuff?" Ruby looked disgusted and stared at the ground for a moment. "What does it taste like?"  
"Like a very, very sweet grape smoothie." Kreig said as he looked at the small trilobite-like creature scuttling past, carrying a large branch in its pincers.  
"What is all this?" Ruby asked as her friend started leading her around the newborn hive. As they walked around the clearing, Kreig explained everything to her.  
"This is a Harvester," He pointed to the structure the Zerg were dropping trees and plants into, "it's been modified to convert resources into a sort of biomass material which we use for... well everything. The smaller ones doing the work are drones, a basic worker Zerg that does manual labor, unsuitable for combat."  
"What are those?" Ruby pointed to the larger, six-limbed Zerg, three of which were prowling around the clearing, and another three were patrolling the edge of the clearing.  
"Those are Zerglings," Kreig explained, "they are the basic soldiers of the Zerg, used en mass as standard foot soldiers and cannon fodder. Speaking of which..." Ruby turned to see one of them walking up to her, before stopping in-front of her.  
"Go on," Kreig motioned to the Zergling, "pet it."  
Slowly, Ruby extended her arm, moving her hand closer and closer to the beast, before resting her hand on its head, to which the Zergling reacted with a low hiss and a short shake of its head, before it pushed its head into her hand, beckoning her to continue. Ruby obliged, eventually switching to scratching it behind its skull plate, which it seemed to like, seeing how its thigh mounted insect wings started buzzing as it continued its low, content hiss.  
"Sit?" Ruby asked, half asking and half wondering whether or not these things could take orders. Seeing as how it promptly sat down on its hind legs, the answer appearing to be yes. While she was petting and scratching the Zergling, she heard a strange noise that sounded something like a cross between a loud screech and a hiss. She looked over to see another Zergling emerging from the egg shaped structure in the center of the clearing.  
"What's that?" Ruby pointed to it, "that...egg thing."  
"Oh that?" As Kreig looked over at it, three of the drones dropped their haul from the harvester into it, "That is a hatchery. That is where more Zerg are, well, hatched. It uses processed material from the harvester to perform its functions."  
"Ah..." Ruby said, reaching down to scratch the Zergling next to her. This caught the attention of Kreig.  
"This one seems to have taken a liking to you..." Kreig said, "If you like, you may name it."  
"It doesn't have a name?" She asked, somewhat confused. Ruby had assumed that if it was trained enough to take orders then it must have a name.  
"The vast majority of Zerg are not given names. As part of the Zerg Hivemind, names are not usually needed for basic organisms like Zerglings and Drones." Kreig explained, looking over at the Hatchery.

' _I really_ _need to get a broodmother to help me put with this_ ,' he thought, as Ruby racked her brain for a good name for the Zergling she had met, ' _it would be nice to have some sapient Zerg assistance..._.'  
"How about..." Ruby said, scratching under the Zerglings chin, "...Eran..." seeing the Zerglings tail wag, she decided it would work.  
"Okay Eran, follow me!" And to her surprise and joy, Eran did follow her. She gave a few test commands, including shake, roll over, and speak, which resulted in a series of hissing noises. After a few minutes of getting to know Eran, Ruby turned to Kreig with a slightly annoyed and flustered look.  
"Kreig," Ruby walked up to him and spoke with a stern voice, "You need to get some clothes." she punctuated this by poking him on his right chest plate.  
"Why?" He asked, in an emotionless toneless voice.  
"What if someone sees you?" Ruby asked, "What if you need to go somewhere? You need some clothes."  
"I-" Kreig tried to explain his reasoning, but Ruby had grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him out of the clearing, Eran following close behind. After a few moments Kreig gave up on arguing with Ruby and simply allowed the girl to lead him back through the forest, eventually coming upon a home, which reminded Kreig of old terran structures.  
"Follow me!" Ruby opened a door located on the rear of the structure, and led Kreig in, who instructed Eran to wait outside. The red cloaked human led the zerg commander through the house, up a flight of stairs and into a bedroom.  
The room had a single twin sized bed and a desk, both of which were covered in clothes, magazines and innumerable bottles and cans of human alcoholic products. Kreig watched as Ruby threw him some clothes, including a plain white shirt, a pair of black pants, socks, running shoes, and what he remembered the humans call 'underwear'  
Moving quickly, Kreig pulled the clothing over his carapace, frowning slightly when the thin cloth continued to get caught on the small spikes and barbs on his plates. Once he was dressed, he began to exit the room with Ruby when there was a loud dinging sound, and Ruby jumped slightly, before telling him to stay where he was.  
"Wait here, someone's at the door!" She said to him before darting down the stairs and cracking open the door. Kreig peered around the doorway before he froze.

* * *

Location: Korhal

"Hey mom," a boy asked as his mother walked past his door, "who is it?"  
"Don't worry, it'll only take a moment." The mother reassured her child as she walked down the stairs, her husband right behind her.  
"Hell-" The two were cut off from their greeting by a hail of gunfire. Ripping through the two humans, they were dead before they even hit the ground, filled with holes and leaking blood. The child choked out a sob before the person responsible stepped through the doorway.  
It was a human, dressed in a slim, well fitting black bodysuit with plates of armor attached at key points. They were wearing a visor which was composed of a series of glowing green eyepieces, and was holding a compact, silenced sub-machine gun.  
The child could recognize one of them anywhere. Confederate Ghosts, assassins whose skill were the stuff of legend, used only on the highest priority targets. As the first one began to search the first floor, a second Ghost entered the building, and began making their way to the stairs.  
The child ducked back into his room and quickly began searching through his desk for something he could use, anything to give him even a fleeting chance of living. He pawed through books, old game systems, action figures of space marines and zerglings, before his hand closed around a smooth metal shaft. He grabbed and pulled, exposing a somewhat crude, homemade knife, almost a short sword considering its size.  
It was a long, single edged, slightly curved one handed machete thing, made from the remains of a scavenged lawnmower blade and a large wrench, cut, sharpened and crudely bolted together. The child had been very interested in building and engineering, and so had devoted every spare second into designing things and making stuff.  
It may not be the best or most well made option, but given its intended use, (ie. Questionable self defense) it would be impossible to discount a stab wound from it. Speaking of questionable self defense, just as the child hid themselves behind the door, he heard the ghost walk through.  
Once he had a clear shot, the boy took his chance, leaping onto the ghost and giving the best downward stab he could muster, driving the blade between the neck and the shoulder, sinking up to the handle in the ghost, who gave out a cry of pain before being silenced with another clumsy strike to the neck.  
As the child heard the other ghost begin running up the stairs, he decided to make his escape. He quickly smashed the window, and prepared to leap out, only to have his ankle grabbed, and his small body slammed down onto the hard floor, knocking the air out of him. As the ghost drew and leveled its handgun at him, the child swung his weapon as hard as he could. With nothing short of a miracle, his swing managed to sink about halfway into the ghosts wrist. With the assassin instinctively recoiling in pain, the kid drew his arm back and swung much lower, messily sinking into the back of the ghosts foot, severing the achilles tendon.  
As his assailant collapsed to the floor, the child picked himself up and ran. He sprinted downstairs, ignoring the burning pain in his chest or the twisted ankle he'd got. As quick as he could hobble, he ran into the garage, and grabbed the closest tank of lighter fluid he could see, before hauling it back into the house. He opened it, and then began to pour it around the second floor, making sure to soak the stairs, where he saw the ghost begin to crawl out of the room at the end of the hallway.  
Once he was out of fluid, he ran into the kitchen and grabbed a pack of matches, striking one after fumbling with the box for a second. He dropped the match, and seeing a fire blossom from the ground, left. Out the door, which he locked, he went. He ran, to nowhere in particular, just away, running and running, just trying to get away from the house, now a faint column of smoke on the horizon.  
It was the middle of his second day, and at the peak of the morning, the noon sun beating down with a vengeful fury, that he stopped. His skin was burnt, his stomach empty and his throat parched, so dehydrated that he couldn't even cry anymore. He collapsed, burying his face in the desert sand, letting sleep take him, hoping it would last forever.

* * *

"Hey Ruby!" Kreig saw another human, this one with long, yellow hair and wearing much more provocative clothing that Ruby. Judging from their interaction, Kreig guessed they were related somewhat.  
"H-hi Yang!" Ruby asked, letting her in and closing the door behind her, "whatcha doin?"  
"I was going to see a movie with my friends," she groaned, "but I forgot my bag, just need to grab it."  
The one named Yang walked up the stairs, nearing the room Kreig was currently in. Sensing a possible hostile encounter, Kreig silently extended his blades, each protruding from the carapace on his forearm, turning into wicked bone swords, hard and sharp enough to tackle anything Kreig came across, and seeing as how they were designed to cleave through terran space marine armor, one unarmored human would be of no concern.  
But to his relief, Yang turned and walked into a room opposite the hall from the zerg commander, before leaving with the bag she was looking for. She waved goodbye to Ruby, and left. Kreig walked downstairs, an expression of discomfort on his face, while Ruby thought he looked kinda funny, seeing the small barbs and spikes on his plates had put some small holes in the clothing.  
"Ok!" Ruby clapped her hands together, while leading Kreig through the house and back out the rear door, "Now we need to get you some food. I bet you're starving from being out there for a while."  
Deciding not to argue, Kreig compiled, following her out and around the house as the girl led her down the road. Ordering Eran to keep out of site, Kreig followed Ruby as she eventually led her into a human village. Or town. Kreig was never able to tell the two apart, even before he became a zerg.  
The young girl led him around, explaining what each store was, giving her opinions, and even purchasing food items and giving some to him, which confused the zerg commander greatly.  
'What is wrong with this human,' Kreig thought, 'Even if she is unfamiliar with the Zerg, some animosity would still be expected of her race. Perhaps her kindness is a front, a very convincing front, but I suppose I can't rule anything out.'  
Deciding to probe her mind, only to discern her true intentions, Kreig found something strange. This little human girl was the kindest and most compassionate being he had ever met, and he could only sense nothing but good intentions from her, something incredibly strange to Kreig, given his experiences.

* * *

Location: Zerg Leviathan

In orbit around Char

Kreig stood in a fleshy room, one of the many spaces within a zerg leviathan. Before him stood his Master, Queen of Blades, Sarah Kerrigan herself.  
"You grace me with your presence Lady Kerrigan," Kreig said, in a polite and respectful tone, "what brings you here?"  
"Stand up Kreig," She motioned to him, who rose from his kneeling position on the floor, "There's no need to be that formal."  
"You saved my life and gave me a purpose, I will owe you until the day I die Lady Kerrigan." He looked her in the eye, "I can give you nothing but respect my queen."  
"You weren't this polite when we first met, Kreig." Kerrigan responded in a somewhat sarcastic tone, referring to their initial meeting, causing the zerg commander to shift nervously, his much thicker combat plating rising and falling with every slow breath.  
"My apologies Lady Kerrigan," Kreig bowed his head slightly, "that was before you explained yourself to me, before you made me understand what, they, did to you." The venom in his voice, the distaste for those who had wronged his queen palpable.  
"Once you opened up to me, I understood your," she paused for a moment, "dislike for the Dominon, especially Confederate Ghosts, given your rough early years." She looked down at him to see his fists clenched hard enough to crack bone, and the smoldering, barely restrained fury and absolute hatred at the mention of both the ghosts and the dominion.  
"Until you, I'd never seen a human with such hatred for their own government, with one notable exception." Kerrigan looked to him.  
"Jim Raynor." Kreig nearly whispered under his breath, "the freedom fighter."  
"He and his rebels took you in," she looked away from him for a second, "He was almost like a father to you."  
"He was."

* * *

Location: Remannt  
Island of Patch  
Time: 16:20

After wasting away the day in the human town, Ruby finally began to tire, eventually deciding to return home for the night. The two found themselves only a few minutes out from her house, when Kreig voiced himself.  
"Do you mind me asking a question?" Kreig asked, drawing the attention of the young huntress.  
"Sure!"  
"I've been thinking," the zerg said, "you are very different from the humans I've met before. You are a good person, which is very strange for a human."  
"Oh..." this seemed to confuse Ruby, "thank you?"  
"So I would like to offer you something Miss Rose." Kreig paused, mulling his next words over in his head, "would you like to join The Zerg?"  
"What?" Ruby stopped walking to look at Kreig.  
"You would join us, you would become stronger, faster, better than you could ever be as human," Kreig stopped and turned to her, "you could become the greatest Huntsman remnant would ever see."  
"Would I look like you?" Ruby, despite trying to put on her best poker face, this sounded like a very, very good offer. She could finally be a hero, she could be the best on the planet, how could she refuse?  
"Not if you don't want to." Kreig explained, "You can stay exactly the same in appearance. You would also gain control of your own personal zerg force."  
Seeing her mouth open and close slightly, Kreig decided to give her some time.  
"If you wish to accept, meet me at the hive in the woods tomorrow." He turned and began walking into the woods, and Ruby could see her 'pet' zergling, Eran standing at the edge of the forest, "Keep in mind, I will not force you to do anything you don't want." As he reached the edge, he turned and gave Ruby one last message.  
 **I await your decision, Ruby Rose**  
And with that that, he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2: A Deal With the Devil

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Patch Hive  
Time: 03:38

 **Are we understood,** Kreig thought, looking at his newest zerg, **Thal'aresh?**  
 **Of course Master,** the zerg broodmother bowed, before straightening again, **I have just begun construction of a spawning pool immediately. Though I must ask, why did you offer this Ruby Rose a place among our swarm?**  
 **She shows much promis Thal'aresh. In addition to her valuable knowledge of this world, her skills can give us an idea of what we may be uo abainst, so long as she offers this information willingly** Kreig responded, knowing full well he was severely lacking in the psionics department. In truth, he only possessed the ability to communicate and read basic surface thoughts, an unfortunate reality that was very often balanced out by the rest of him.

He was an incredibly potent combat expert among the zerg, and was more than capable of matching even the most powerful Protoss warriors in his current body, which Kerrigan had dubbed his, 'Commander Form'. This, after a lengthy process that took several hours, could be converted into his combat body, which was more than capable of defeating multiple brood war Ultralisks at once, and even matching the Terran Thor Waker in single combat.  
Kreig affectionately named it his 'War Form'. To the humans and protoss, he became a horror story. The noise that went bump in the night, except the bump was a massive zerg force headed by a highly intelligent monster with a deep seated resentment for all that stood against it. He became known to the sector as the 'Beast of Blades', second to the Queen of the Swarm.  
Together, the two were nigh unstoppable.  
Kerrigan, a manipulative, somewhat cocky yet calculating strategist, was a powerful psionic and very adept as tactical zerg use, often used clever placement and positioning to secure her victory early, preparing for a complex and targeted attack.  
Kreig was calm, collected, loyal to a fault and while he didn't posses any real psionic skill, was still a capable strategist. However, both his physical form and approach to fighting led him to specialize in massive, open warfare, often involving hundreds of thousands of zerg at once, tearing through enemies with brute force and numbers, with Kreig right in the thick of it, sometimes serving as a distraction while Kerrigan put her planing into place and positioned her troops.  
All in all, a very formidable duo.  
 **Master,** Thal'aresh's voice snapped Kreig out of his thoughts, **While our current material intake is sufficient for our current size, if we are to expand at all within a few months, we need more.** **Unfortunately, while our scouts have not found any mineral patches on the island, that doesn't change the fact that our current biomass consumption is unsutainable**  
 **have been thinking on this for a while,** Kreig responded, walking over to the spawning pool currently being constructed, **if we are unable to harvest minerals or vespene gas, then we may need to turn to more biological means**  
What do you mean Master? **What do you mean Master?**  
 **Would it be possible to add a few extra features to the creep?**  
 **That is very possible. What would you have me do?**  
 **I would like to see if we can alter the creep to coexist more,** Kreig began explaining, **if, instead of killing olant life it's placed over, if we coould modify it to work witht he plants, having it extract nutrients and grow itself**

 **That...is actually a very good idea Master,** Thal'aresh responded, agreeing with the zerg commander, **but wouldn't that still not provide enough energy?**  
 **Exactaly** , **which is why I think it would be very beneficial if we could modify the creep further while we search for a mineral replacement**

Genius, and while Thal'aresh would later make this very clear, she was pleasantly surprised that Kreig had thought of something so clever, yet so simple. She was very proud of him, part of a hardcoded personality trait that made all broodmothers act, well, motherly, specifically toward Kreig, something of a practical joke from Kerrigan, and it infuriated him to no end.  
 **That is a wonderful idea Master,** Thal'aresh said, voicing an idea of her own, **Although I do have some ideas that would make the process more efficient**

 **In that case,** Kreig said, beginning to end the conversation, **I give you full power and authority to do so**  
Thank you Master  
' _And now we wait_ ', the zerg commander thought to himself, ' _I wonder Miss Rose, will you accept my offer?"_

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Patch Hive  
Time: 08:10

"So you've decided to accept my offer?" Kreig sat down in a custom Zerg structure, designed to resemble a single room in a human house. Ruby was more hesitant to sit, seeing as how the 'chair' was literally made of flesh and bone, but she soon found it incredibly comfortable.  
"Why?" A simple question, but one he wanted to know.  
"Well, I'm a huntress, 'cause I want to help people, and if you can make me better, then I can help more people, and if I'm a better huntress then I'll be cool and people will like me and then finally Weiss won't be so smug and-" Kreig raised a hand, cutting her off before she could go farther.  
"I understand." Ruby looked at him, as he continued, "but be careful, think this through. This is a process that cannot be reversed, so tread cautiously." A statement that worried and brought concern to the young huntress.  
"Wait," she stopped, causing Kreig to swear internally, "what do I lose?"  
"Your humanity." The two words chilling Ruby's blood, and suddenly the room seemed to be a little less warm.  
"W-what?" She stood up, unconsciously inching toward the door.  
"You will lose your humanity. You will become a zerg, like me, you will give up what makes you human. You will change Ruby Rose, you will never be the same." Kreig held out his hand to her as she stepped backwards.  
"Will you join me?"

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Time: 08:15

Ruby was running through the forest, which might not have been the best thing to do. She was scared, and rightfully so, seeing as some alien had planned to take away her humanity. She knew that it was the soul that made people human, which was why they had aura, why she had aura.  
Take that away, and the grimm are born.  
She didn't know what Kreig truly wanted, if his altruism was merely a front to get her to give up herself. Maybe he was really some kind of soul eating grimm, that just wanted her dead, albeit a very elaborate one. In truth, Kreig was an unknown, and in all honesty, Ruby should have told her father as soon as she found him the night before.  
Unfortunately, she was snapped out of her mind by the roar of a grimm. She skidded to a halt, eyes slowly turning upwards, into the eyes of a full grown Alpha Ursa Major. Deciding to take her mind off of Kreig for a second, she cocked the bolt of her rifle and cracked a smile.

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Patch Hive  
Time: 8:20

With all due respect Master, Thal'aresh spoke, err, thought, to Kreig, she was going to accept your offer, had you not gone and scared her by being as dramatic as you were

 **I know Thal'aresh,** Kreig gave an annoyed huff, **a lapse in judgement on my part**

At that moment, the two Zerg heard a loud roar echo through the forest, coming from the direction of Ruby's house.  
 **But perhaps you can convince her to join us, Master**

 **Maybe** Kreig allowed himself a small smile as he extended his arm blades and walked out the door.  
 **Perhaps a live demonstration is in order**

Loaction: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Time: 8:30

Ruby could and did handle the Alpha Ursa Major. Just barely though, seeing as how she was still a huntress in training. She did take it down, even with her aura now at half, and herself exhausted. It was the six other Ursa Majors that charged out of the forest that were an issue.  
Currently, she wasn't doing well, her aura gone, only two Ursa Major down, Crescent Rose was both empty and somewhat damaged, refusing to shift back into a rifle. Sensing her desperation, one of the bear grimm charged. She stood her ground, and swung her scythe, clipping the grimms head, putting a gash in its face plate as it swung its claws, opening up three long, deep gashes in her midsection, and sending her into a tree. The grimm approached as the others make roars of their own, getting closer and closer, rearing up on its hind legs, when a brown and purplish blur shot past the tree Ruby was slumped against, and a two foot spike was buried in the Ursa's skull. She watched as Kreig pulled his blade free from the Ursa, revealing it to emanate from the armored carapace on his forearm. The others approached, and Kreig dashed forward, leaping and burying both blades in the chest of the first grimm, punching through both lungs. Using that as a starting point, Kreig flung himself up and over the grimm, retracting both blades as he landed on the shoulders of the one behind it.  
He reached down, and gripped the monsters skull plate, armored fingers digging into the bone. He used this a fulcrum and jumped down, extending his blade on the other hand, and slitting the grimms throat as he went past, the momentum and weight of his body also snapping its neck.  
With two grimm left, he charged the next one, slamming his shoulder into it, then tensing his legs and leaping, coming up and bringing his elbow into the grimms jaw, smashing the bone. Landing again, he slashed three times at the grimm screaming in pain as he cleaved its stomach open.  
He turned his attention to the last grimm, punching his blade forward and lancing through its knee. Quickly retracting his blade, Kreig jumped up and over the grimm, landing on its back. He ran up its spine and putting his hands under the grimms jaws, and pulled, letting the anguished roars of the Ursa Major to echo throughout the forest, until it was silenced by a sickening tearing noise, and the dull thump of a head dropping to the floor.  
With the grimm dispatched, Kreig turned to Ruby, currently slumped against a tree, bleeding profusely from three deep gashes in her stomach. He looked down at her, and voiced his concerns.  
 **Ruby, you're hurt...**  
"Y-yeah..." Ruby coughed weakly, blood pooling on the ground around her, "it got me, a-and my auras gone..."  
 **You're bleeding very heavily,** Kreig crouched down, tentatively pressing his hand against her wound, eliciting a sharp cry of pain, **you're lucky to still be alive, let alone concious**

"I've got a scroll, I can call someone!" Ruby said, raising her scroll, only for her heart to drop as she looked into its smashed screen, a huge crack running through it as it weakly sparked and then quietly died.  
 **Ruby, I can't help you here, as a human,** He looked into her eyes, **If I do nothing, you WILL die here**

 **But**

I can save you, seeing the hope blossom in her eyes, Kreig continued, join us, and you will become more powerful than possible for a human

 **What say you, Ruby Rose?**  
Ruby nodded.  
Kreig smiled.  
As her vision started to fade, she saw him reach down, and felt him pick her up. Right before unconsciousness took her, she heard him whisper a single line.  
"Do you believe in destiny?"

* * *

Location: Korhal

Night had set, the sun giving way to the moon, the burning heat receding to the chilling cold. Eventually, the young boy in the sand wakes up, shaking the dust from his hair as he shakily rises to his feet. He is deep in the desert, lost, alone, scared and easily over two dozen miles from the flaming husk of what used to be his home.  
He takes a step, shakily, uncertain of himself, then another and another. He makes it twenty feet before he collapses again. More time passes, maybe an hour, maybe three, maybe 10 minutes. It was only the sound of engines that drew his attention, and a pair of blinding spotlights that scanned over his form, before stopping there.  
The noise paused, and the child tilted his head to see a group of four hellions, fast, four wheeled flamethrower equipped skirmish vehicles. Each car held three people, two marines and a medic each, with one driver.  
He heard someone dismount, and the footsteps of military boots grinding into the sand. His eyes, unfocused and blank, watched idly as a medic, garbed in blue tinged uniform looked down at him. He could have recognized the markings of the rebels anywhere, and he made no attempt to move when he felt something hard and metal slide under his body, just as a horrific screeching noise erupted from the ground.  
"You three, hold them off, get this kid to a medic ASAP!" The gruff voice of a space marine jarred the boy as the massive armored human lifted him off the ground and placed him into the back seat of a hellion amid the crack of automatic gunfire and whoosh of mounted flamethrowers  
The medic in the seat next to him start to heal his body, while another one performed some basic examination, eventually wiping off enough blood and sand from his face to identify him.  
"Holy shit..." the medic whispered, her voice shaky, "it's General Tiber's kid..."  
"Isn't he friends with Raynor?" The other asked, still healing the boy.  
"Yeah, they go way back, Tiber had been working undercover for us against the dominion, but I don't know why his kid is out in the desert like this..." Prompting the kid to groan.  
"Ghost's..." his voice was strained and raspy, like someone who had been facefirst in hot sand for the last 12 hours, "broke in...killed both...house...on fire...ran..." he finished, slowly.  
"What about-"  
The only shook his head in sadness, to which the medics bowed their heads as a sign of respect.  
"Alright kid," the female medic placed a hand on his forehead, "just rest."  
His consciousness dimmed again, and he faded once more.

* * *

Location: Remnant  
Island of Patch  
Patch Hive  
Spawning Pool  
Time: 20:40

 **Is she stable?** Kreig asked his broodmother.  
 **Yes Master,** Thal'aresh shuffled her limbs and looked over at the young woman suspended in the spawning fluid, in the process of being converted into zerg, **she healed exceptionally well, I might add**

 **Her genetic code is very responsible to the Zerg DNA, and her basic form should be completed within the hour**  
 **Is it possible to keep her aura intact?** Kreig asked, concerned about a possibility of suspicion being directed toward her, **It seemes to be very essential to her combat style**

 **It is indeed possible, however I cannot seem to integrate the gene for it into the Zerg**  
 **Hmm** , Kreig scratched his chin, **I suppose that is a problem for another time. I have a very good idea of what to do to her**

Thal'aresh looked at him, prompting him to continue.  
 **Her greatest asset is her speed, it seems to be the centerpiece of her style, and an upgrade to that would probably be most beneficial to her.  
In that case, Master, I believe digitigrade legs in addition to a light carapace would be the best option.  
Correct Thal'aresh,** Kreig spoke up, **However I feel that she would not be happy with any physical deformities. I think we should instead simply upgrade her muscular system, focusing on the legs more than usual.  
Understood, **Thal'aresh said, bowing her head slightly, **It will be done,** **Master**

Kreig watched through the fluid of the spawning pool as her body mutated, as muscle grew and then compressed, maintaining her form while increasing strength and mass, while the wound on her stomach, once a series of deep, long gashes, was nothing more than three faint, white scars, and even those were fading before his eyes. He then turned and left, exiting the structure he had built around the special underground spawning pool.  
The hive had expanded almost explosively since the morning, the nutrient extracting and photosynthetic creep modifications almost playfully easy to make. With the new form or creep, blades of 'creep grass', as Kreig had referred to it, began to peek through the floor. It was just creep covering the grass, extracting nutrients from the grass, which extracted them from the soil, while providing the grass energy thanks to its photosynthetic qualities.  
But the most impressive new structures were the giant organic towers than now dotted the hive landscape. Nicknamed, 'Zerg Trees' by Kreig, they were each around 40-50 feet tall, with a central column formed from thick muscles and chitin, with a central bone running through the center. The great, 'leaves' of the 'tree' were actually closer to sails, very wide and broad, forming a structure that, from a distance, resembled an oak tree. Each of the 'leaves' were coated in another form of new creep, which worked more like a second skin, and could not be simply lifted and moved around like other creep.  
These structures generated massive amounts of solar energy, which was transferred through an underground nervous system, which connected to each structure, and increased zerg effectiveness, giving them a bit of a charge when in contact with creep, in addition to providing more energy to expand.  
But now, Kreig was standing just outside of the Hive, facing the treeline. In a few seconds, a small recon zerg force appeared, looking rather injured and battered, but alive and kicking nonetheless. However, the most important aspect was the unconscious human the lead zergling was carrying.  
While the zerg dumped the human to the floor and scurried off, Kreig grinned, delivering a swift kick to his midsection, jolting him awake with a cry of pain. The man, dressed in black and grey, was a bandit, having been part of a small squadron that ambushed his forces during their recon mission, searching for useful minerals.  
"W-what, where am I?" He looked around, before focusing on Kreig, his face contorting into an expression of anger. His hand reached down, grabbing for a gun that wasn't there. Seeing desperation flash on his face, he stepped forward, throwing a wild punch at Kreig, who countered a powerful hook to his ribs, producing a cracking noise, and sending him to the ground.  
"Welcome to the hive!" Kreig said, arms out wide in a welcome gesture, "We've got a few questions for you, bandit." He spoke to the man, who was still on the ground, moaning. Then the Zerg Commander stepped forward.  
"And you'll be answering them." He finished, as he heard the tell tale noise of a broodmother approaching from behind him. He turned to see Thal'aresh with a small squadron of zerglings standing in formation behind him.  
 **What would you have me do, Master?** She asked, clearly referring to the downed bandit.  
 **I want to know everything he knows** Kreig hefted the groaning man by the hair and tossed him to the broodmother, who caught the bandit by the throat and dropped him onto the back of a zergling.  
 **It will be done** Thal'aresh nodded her head and left, moving off to interrogate the criminal, while Kreig focused on something the man had dropped.  
It was a small crystal, with a reddish hue, that seemed to exude an as of yet unknown energy that was unfamiliar to Kreig. It was a bit of a mystery to him, and as he looked up at the overlord floating toward him, he decided he would find out.  
 **Master,** As Kreig boarded the Overlord to take a little trip up into the sky, to get his bearings of the world and see where he was, he was contacted by Thal'aresh, **I have news**

 **Continue**  
 **Ruby Rose has awakened** The broodmother 'spoke' to him.  
 **Good**


End file.
